Italy and Holland internationals Alessandro Florenzi and Kevin Strootman were the star turns at an event organized by Nike – AS Roma’s technical sponsor – at the Rebel Sport store in Melbourne this afternoon.

Here as part of the Giallorossi’s summer tour of Australia, the players were both full of praise for the welcome they’ve received from fans in Melbourne. They spent an hour with Giallorossi fans in the store, posing for photos and signing jerseys and anything else the supporters could think of. There was also time for a few questions…

Welcome Kevin, how are you feeling physically and how’s your return coming along?
“Thank you, I’m getting better and better. I still need to train hard to get back in the team.”

Did you snap a ligament?
“I’ve had some problems but as you know, I had an operation and it went very well. Now I’m training all the time to return to action – that’s the most important thing.”

Have you ever been to Australia before?
“No, it’s my first time here.”

What do you think of this country?
“We’ve not seen much of the city yet and the only slight issue is the time difference! But it’s great to be here and train in this country. It’s the first time for lots of us.”

Are you surprised at how many fans love you guys here?
“Yes, it’s always a lovely thing. I’ve seen loads of fans here and can even see some Italians! Wherever we go we always have a lot of fans and it’s great to see that in each country. Australia is a long way away but they still know us well.”

You were on the television yesterday and the viewing figures were huge. Did you see that?
“No, I didn’t. But I hope there’ll be lots watching the match tomorrow as well!”

Alessandro, have you ever been to Australia before?
“No, it’s my first time too.”

Have you seen how many fans you have here?
“Yes, I never expected there would be so many!”

Lots of people are saying “I love you mate!” to you…
“[Laughs] Roma fans make their support felt all over the world. It’s a lovely thing.”

Have you seen the stadium where you’ll be playing tomorrow?
“Not yet but I know it holds up to 110,000 people. It’ll be a great spectacle for us and the fans of both Roma and Real Madrid.”

Scroll through our gallery above to get an idea of just how excited the fans were to see our two Giallorossi heroes in the flesh at the Rebel Sport store in Melbourne!

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